


On the Streets of Kibougaoka

by Umekopyon



Series: Kibougaoka AU [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Drowning Mention, Illustrated, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, POV Second Person, Police, Unrequited Love, how do tags, i want to give izayoi a better life but he's uncooperative, komaru's gone a bit goofy, maybe eventual romance, mondo loves puppies, naegi and his wingwomen, sakakura is pretty damn otome in this whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2018-08-16 23:32:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8121847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umekopyon/pseuds/Umekopyon
Summary: In Kibougaoka and the surrounding areas, there are plenty of other relationships being forged, stories to be told.  A collection of side stories set in the same universe as "Waiting for Rainbows."
Chapter 1 - one-sided Munakata/SakakuraChapters 2 and 3 - eventual Togami/NaegiChapters 4-7 - Advent Calendar assortmentChapters 8 (and 9 when it's up) - eventual Togami/Naegi





	1. The First Whiff of Burning Incense

**Author's Note:**

> *spills DR3 feels on the floor* oops
> 
> So this is going to be a collection of side stories set in the same universe as my Kuzuhina story "Waiting for Rainbows." You don't HAVE to read "Rainbows" to understand what's going on here... but I'd like it if you did, ehehe. :3 (If you have no plans to read it, the basic premise of the AU is "everyone is boring.")
> 
> Anything I write in the universe that doesn't have anything to do with Kuzuhina or the main plot will be thrown over here, and there will be various different ships. Also there's no update schedule for this. Basically I'm just gonna do what I feel like when I feel like it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's start this off with a fluffy Munasaka-ish oneshot, shall we? No DR3 spoilers.
> 
> I don't usually like writing in the second person OR in present tense, but this thing refused to be written any other way!
> 
> Thanks to CSakuraS for betaing~!

You first notice him in spring, about a week into the new term.

There are several things that stand out about him, but what really catches your eye as you watch through the koban's glass façade is his gait.  He walks with purpose, strong and confident, which is something you don't often see in the academic types—and being a block from such a prestigious university, you see a _lot_ of dweeby smart kids.

This guy isn't a dweeb, though.  He sort of looks like one, with his silver hair neatly cropped and his nose stuck in a book, but there's an aura about him that seems to demand respect.

Also he somehow manages to pull off wearing a white suit without looking like a complete douche, so there's that.

He's probably around your age, so he's too old to be one of the freshmen—a graduate student, then?  Maybe a faculty member.  Either way, he passes by the koban going to and from the train station on a regular schedule, and once you figure out what that schedule is you find yourself looking for him every day.

You try to learn more about him just going by what you can see—his interactions with students that flag him down, the colors of his neckties, the café logo on his daily cup of coffee.  You don't even realize you want to know what kind of books he reads until the one day when he's holding a book without a generic paper bookstore cover and your heart seems to leap in your chest.  (It's a collection of Soseki works, the sort of stuff you hated reading in high school.  Maybe you'll give it another try.)

By the time summer comes around, you realize you're kind of falling in love with the guy.  You feel pretty stupid for falling in love with someone you've never even talked to; you had never really thought about talking to him, enthralled as you were with discovering all the little things about him on your own.  Now it's too mortifying to consider even introducing yourself to him, because your stomach does little flips at the thought and you're pretty sure you'd throw up all over his Italian leather shoes.  You have a reputation to uphold as the tough and intimidating cop so that's not a risk that you can take.

For probably the first time ever, you're glad that Ishimaru is as bad at picking up normal social cues as he is.  You spend too much time either looking at the silver-haired man or _thinking_ about looking at him, and you're not exactly thrilled at the idea of your junior officer figuring out what's going on.  But he probably won't figure it out; he's too busy trying to stop the students from running to and from the train station.  (You keep telling him not to do that.  This is a street on the edge of a college campus, not a goddamn school hallway.)

During summer vacation, traffic at the college slows considerably, enough that you can spend part of the day paging through _Kokoro_.  You don't understand it much better than when you were a teenager, but somehow it's quickly becoming your favorite book.  (You don't think you've ever _had_ a favorite book before.)  Of course, you make sure to watch vigilantly whenever he walks by—despite the break from classes, he still shows up at the university nearly every day.

(Your breath catches a little when you see him in short sleeves.)

And then, one day near the end of the summer holidays, he passes by the koban and you notice something notably different.  Hell, of _course_ you noticed; you'd have to be blind not to.

There's a woman at his side.

She's pretty, with long chestnut brown hair and a bright, cheerful smile.  She's obviously very close with the man, clinging to his arm and chattering away, but you're not really looking at her.  You're looking at _him_ , of course.

He's smiling with a fondness that you've never seen in him before.

In that moment, you know.  There's no room for you in there.  There never has been from the very start.

If you're perfectly honest, you probably knew the whole time.

And that's the end of your story.  It was short, it was uneventful, and in the end, nothing really changed.

 

...Oh, like _hell_.

You never really did know when to give up, after all.

So it's autumn when you're standing outside relishing the cool evening breeze, a welcome respite after the too-long heat of summer, when he passes by the koban as always.  You ignore the fluttering in your stomach and, as casually as you can, you say the first words you've ever spoken to him.

"Good work today."

He stops, glances up from his book, and nods.  "Same to you," he says, and his voice sounds like honey and magic and other poetic shit you were never good at.  "Nice weather today, isn't it?"

"Yeah."  You don't feel like it's physically possible for you to manage any more words than that, but you have him here, and he's _talking_ to you, so before he takes your silence as his cue to leave you decide to push your limits.  "I'm Juzo Sakakura, by the way.  I'm the senior officer at this koban."

He closes his book and looks at you directly, and you notice for the first time that his eyes are periwinkle blue.  You'd never been close enough to see their color before.  (You can't imagine how you had ever been satisfied with watching from afar.)

He gives a polite smile and holds out his hand.  "I'm Kyosuke Munakata, and I teach business and economics at the university.  It's nice to meet you, Sakakura."

After the briefest hesitation, you grab his hand to shake; the touch has your nerves on fire, but you don't let go until he does.

He bids you goodnight then, and you watch as he disappears into the train station.

You're still not sure if there's room for you, but you're pretty damn certain that it's too early to give up.

And that's the beginning of your story.


	2. The Death of Makoto Naegi, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto Naegi had lived a fairly good life. Too bad it was about to come to a very abrupt and sudden end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hopped up on Japanese sweets and all ready to write about Kuzuryu and Andoh's first meeting in the main story, but I ended up writing this instead? Well ok. Here's some kinda-sorta-eventual Naegami, part 1 of 2(?).
> 
> Thanks to my youngest brother for helping me figure out some of the business-type stuff in this story!

Makoto Naegi had lived a fairly good life.  It wasn't anything spectacular—in fact, it was pretty average and unremarkable—but he was reasonably satisfied with it.  He was perpetually busy with multiple jobs, but he got to know so many good people because of it that he really didn't mind.

Yeah, his life had been pretty good.  But no amount of optimistic thinking would convince him that said life wasn't about to come to a very abrupt and sudden end.

It wasn't the dented delivery box lying on the sidewalk that was the problem, nor the cracked bowls scattered about his feet.  He'd dropped udon deliveries just often enough to know that his boss would (probably) forgive him; the cost would come out of his next paycheck is all.  It sucked, but he'd manage.

The real problem—the reason for his impending doom—was the kakejiru broth slowly seeping into finely-pressed clothing, dripping down long, sleek pant legs onto the shiny leather shoes belonging to one Byakuya Togami.

The slotted lid fell completely off the wooden delivery box and clattered onto the sidewalk, the only sound to break the eerie silence between the two men.

Makoto Naegi was _dead_.

* * *

 

"Wait, are you _serious_?!  Ahh, whiteout, whiteout...!"

Naegi sighed as he sat down on the edge of his bed the next morning with his phone cradled against his ear, listening to the familiar sounds of his sister scrambling to fix whatever mistake she had made on her manuscript.  "Yeah, I can't believe I spilled that entire delivery on him..."

"Hmm?  No, not that, that's _so_ totally you."  Naegi could practically hear Komaru's flippant hand wave over the phone line, and he grimaced.  "But Oniichan, you really know Byakuya Togami?  The Togami Corporation guy?!"

Naegi wouldn't exactly classify himself as "knowing" Togami after that encounter—in fact, Togami hadn't even spoken a single word to him.  Naegi had tried to give the taller man a handkerchief, had offered to pay for the dry cleaning (despite not being entirely sure he could afford it), but Togami had said nothing in response.  Instead, he had glared down his nose at Naegi, looking at him with little more regard than if he were pond scum, then scoffed and retreated back into the car he had just exited.  The car had driven off before Naegi even had the chance to decide if he should feel insulted or relieved.

"I mean, I've seen him around from time to time, but we've never talked," he answered.  "The Togami family owns the parent company for a bunch of local chains around here, like the convenience store where I work, so—"

"You _work_ for Byakuya Togami?!  Why did you never tell me this?!"

Naegi blinked at his phone, unsure if he was correctly comprehending the situation through the fatigue of working two full shifts.  Komaru had a tendency to become excited over the strangest and most unpredictable of topics, but her interest in the local scion several wards away seemed particularly off-the-wall.  He put his phone back up to his ear and asked, "What's with the interest in Togami?"

"Well," Komaru said, her voice once again accompanied by the scritch of pen on paper.  "You remember my friend Touko?"

"The writer?"

"Yup!  Well, she's had this _huge_ celebrity crush on Byakuya Togami for _years_ after seeing an article on him in the paper."

Naegi frowned.  "Just because of a newspaper article?"

Komaru hummed thoughtfully.  "I think she looked up a bunch of videos of him on the internet, too?  Anyway, she _really_ likes him, so I've been trying to convince her to write him a love letter or something—I mean, she writes romance, so I figured that's her thing, right?  But that's getting nowhere, so I've been trying to think of other ways to help her out, and—"

"And now you know where you might run into him," Naegi concluded.

"Even better!" Komaru exclaimed.  "Now I've got a _connection_!"

Through the haze of exhaustion, it took a moment longer than usual to piece together his sister's logic.  "Wait a minute, you mean _me_?!"

"Well, yeah!"  Komaru's tone suggested that it was the most obvious conclusion in the world.

"I told you, I don't actually know him," Naegi sighed.  He was too tired for this.  "The only form of interaction I've had with him has been to dump noodle soup all down his front."

"That's even better!"

Naegi groaned and laid down on his bed, drained of all energy to keep himself upright.  "Explain," he said softly.

"You said he didn't accept any reimbursement for his ruined clothes, right?"

"Yeah..."

"So the next time you see him, offer to make it up to him by taking him out to dinner or something."

Naegi breathed a shallow laugh at the absurdity of the idea— _him_ , treating _Byakuya Togami_ to dinner.  "First of all, I work during the dinner hour—"

"Then make it lunch or tea!"

"—and second of all, how does that help your friend?"

"Oh, riiiight."  He could almost _hear_ his sister grinning down the line.  "You have to take me and Touko-chan with you, too."

"That's crazy, Komaru," he said, immediately shooting her down.  "What would you accomplish by putting us all in an awkward situation like that?"

Komaru huffed.  "It doesn't have to be awkward!  Actually, it'll be beneficial for all of us!"

"How so?" Naegi prompted, skeptical.

"Look at it this way," she started, tone firm.  "Togami-san will get some sort of compensation for your screw-up, and you'll be able to clear your conscience.  Meanwhile, Touko-chan will be able to fulfill her dream of meeting him, and I'll be able to see something in my best friend's life _go right_ for once."

Naegi was silent for a long moment as he processed her words.  An emotional plea... Dammit.  Nearly twenty-two years of experience had made Komaru Naegi a master at manipulating her brother.  "I'll give it a try," Naegi sighed, surrendering.  "But I'm not making any promises, all right?  Like I said, I don't really know the guy."

"Thanks!  You're the best, Oniichan!" Komaru gushed, high spirits completely renewed.  "I'll let you get to bed now, then!"

"Yeah, thanks."  Naegi paused for a moment, considering.  "Hold on, didn't you just pull an all-nighter too?  How are you so hyper?"

"You're probably just getting old," was his sister's matter-of-fact response.  "I gotta get ready for class, so I'll talk to you later!  Let me know when you make plans with Togami-san!"

Once he heard the disconnect tone signaling that the call had ended, he shut off his phone and placed it aside, burying his face into his pillow.  His head was spinning from all that had transpired over the past twenty-four hours, and he was ready to sleep it all off.

At least, he thought, he had managed to survive it all.  So far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday Togami, you weren't really in this chapter but welcome to this AU!


	3. The Death of Makoto Naegi, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter went through like 7463827593 rewrites as the characters kept changing direction, and it's also unbetaed, so if there are any mistakes or plot holes... that's entirely my fault, haha. But please do point out anything out that seems to need fixing!

For a few weeks, nothing changed.  Naegi had been telling the truth when he said that he and Togami rarely crossed paths—sure, he worked at one of the Togami family's businesses, but he was almost always assigned the graveyard shift.  It wasn't exactly prime time for upper management to make a visit.

He passed the time as usual, letting the nebulous promise made to his sister sit at the back of his mind, but not completely forgotten—Komaru made sure of that, texting him for updates at least once a week.

_> You better not be hogging him all to yourself!_

_> im not.  what does that even mean?  i swear i havent seen him at all.  shouldnt you focus on graduating instead?_

Naegi sighed and locked his phone.  Nearly a month had passed since the udon incident, and rather than beginning to lose interest, his sister was becoming increasingly restless.  He didn't know what she expected him to do about it, though; it wasn't like he could predict when and where the Togami heir would appear.

The time on his phone's lock screen indicated that he still had a bit of time before he needed to be at the udon restaurant, so he decided to take a detour and stop by the convenience store to check the next week's schedule.  If there happened to be any sort of issue with it, he'd be more like to find a shift manager who could quickly resolve it than if he waited until he showed up that night.

When he stepped into the staff room, though, it wasn't a shift manager he found there.

It was Byakuya Togami himself.

Naegi froze.  Despite all of Komaru's badgering, he had never completely planned out what he would say the next time he _did_ encounter Togami.  The scion didn't seem to have immediately noticed him, focused as he was on what appeared to be a folder of sales reports, so Naegi briefly entertained the idea of just quietly slipping away...

...except that Togami _did_ look up at that moment, his chilly gaze focusing directly on the shorter man.

Naegi still hadn't figured out what to say.  "Um," he started lamely, before deciding to go with his gut and leaning forward in a bow.  "I'm really sorry for spilling udon on you last month!  I didn't really get the chance, so if you'd like me to reimburse the cleaning costs—"

"Enough, Naegi."

Naegi was struck silent by the sound of his own name.  Had he mentioned his name when he had tripped on Togami?  He couldn't really remember, but a lot of the incident was just a panicked blur.

With an annoyed sigh, Togami snapped the manila folder shut and placed it on the accounting desk.  "If I didn't make it clear enough before, I don't need your reimbursement.  I derive no pleasure from bankrupting those who are less fortunate."

Naegi winced.  He had expected that the cleaning costs wouldn't have been in his budget, but hearing it from Togami stung a bit.  "I- I guess..."

"Right.  So if we're done here—"

"Ah, wait!"  Naegi held up a hand, ignoring Togami's indignant expression in response to being interrupted.  "Look, I still want to, I guess... I want to make it up to you somehow?  So, uh, maybe if you'd like..."  The words died on his tongue.  What was he _doing_?  Why had he even agreed to Komaru's little scheme in the first place?

Togami glared down at him.  "You're wasting my time.  Spit it out."

"Yes sir!" was Naegi's instant response, making him feel even more ridiculous, but if he had already made himself out to be such a fool he might as well just go the extra mile.  Taking a deep breath, he continued, "Maybe I could treat you to lunch or something sometime?"

A beat of silence fell between them.  "Lunch?" Togami repeated, an incredulous tone in his voice.

"I-it wouldn't be anything really special," Naegi warned.  "But I know some pretty okay places?"  Suddenly remembering the other part of his promise, he quickly amended, "Also, my sister and her friend want to come along too so—"

"Why in the world should I have any interest in your sister and her friend?"

Naegi paused.  The question made sense.  Perfect sense, even.  There was no reason Togami should care about two girls he'd never even met.  But...  "To be fair, why should you have any interest in _me_?" he pointed out.  "Honestly, I'm surprised that you even remembered my name."

Togami arched a golden eyebrow.  "Why shouldn't I?  Are you aware of how many times your name has appeared and reappeared on our businesses' payrolls?"

Naegi felt his cheeks redden.  Of all the reasons to catch the attention of a well-known entrepreneur, an inability to hold down a job wasn't very high on the list.  "You actually noticed that?" he asked weakly.

"Of course," came the matter-of-fact response.  "It's very unusual.  Quite strange how you continue to be hired despite your track record."

"You make it sound like you suspect me of something immoral."

Togami smirked.  "Perhaps I would, if your supervisors didn't often speak so highly of your work ethic.  It's more of a mystery why you continue to be let go.  Are my store managers just that incompetent?"

"No, no, not at all!"  Naegi shook his head fervently, feeling dumbfounded and a little lightheaded from the unexpected compliments (were they compliments?) but somehow managing to find his voice regardless.  "No, they're all great!  I just... keep messing stuff up by accident.  Bad luck, I guess."  He gave a wry laugh.

"Hmm."  Peering at Naegi through his glasses, Togami took a moment to consider.  "Is that so?  You'd have to have some nerve to claim bad luck when you're being permitted to treat me to lunch."

It took a moment for Naegi to understand what the taller man had just said.  "Wait, what?"

"You heard me.  I am allowing _you_ ," he placed particular emphasis on that word, "to treat Byakuya Togami to lunch.  Be grateful."

Naegi stared dumbly.  What was going on?  He was going to have lunch with Byakuya Togami... _alone_?  Without Komaru and Fukawa?

What had he just gotten himself into?

"Unless, of course," Togami added, "you're backing out now."

Naegi sort of wanted to, honestly, but he knew that if he did he'd only make himself out to be a bit of an idiot—though he already had, really—except Togami had kind of sort of praised him, so maybe he hadn't?  Either way, Naegi couldn't manage much more than a shake of the head to indicate that he wasn't chickening out.

Togami moved to leave then, and as he passed Naegi, he handed over his business card.  "Email me the place and time," he commanded simply before exiting the staff room.

For a while, Naegi stood rooted in place, unsure of what he was supposed to do.  Finally, through the dizzy whirl of his mind, he remembered the text conversation on his phone.

 _Sorry, Komaru,_ he thought.   _I guess I'm hogging him to myself after all._

* * *

"Wh-what are we even doing here, Komaru?!"

Komaru shushed her friend, never taking her eyes off the two men halfway across the dining room.  She wasn't to be disturbed; she was a woman on a _mission_.

Even if she wasn't entirely sure what that mission was herself.

Over the past week, she had managed to get Makoto to tell her quite a few details about his upcoming lunch with Togami.  Maybe it was due to the guilt over reneging on his promise to her, but it hadn't taken much effort to get him to admit to the date and time.

The one point that Makoto had resolutely kept quiet about was the location.  He probably thought he was being shrewd, keeping Komaru in the dark just enough to prevent her from crashing his lunch date.

Fortunately, Komaru knew her brother nearly as well as he knew himself.

Makoto had worked at a few restaurants in the past, so _of course_ he'd choose to go to one of them.  He probably wasn't too familiar with many other places, aside from fast food joints.  And of the restaurants that Makoto had worked at, the ones backed by the Togami Corporation were automatically eliminated—her brother wasn't stupid enough to bring the Togami heir to _one of his own restaurants_.

That left two possible locations for their lunch—and a quick Google search revealed that one of them had since gone out of business.  Bingo.

So that was how Komaru had ended up at a fairly nice family restaurant on the day of her brother's lunch date, disguised in a pair of enormous novelty sunglasses, with Touko Fukawa in tow.

"Seriously Komaru, can we just g-go?" Touko hissed.  "I'm not interested in seeing your brother cozy up to my Byakuya-sama!"

"Of course we can't go!  Look how much of this parfait we have left!"  Komaru gestured towards the large dish of ice cream shared between them.  "You've barely eaten any of it, Touko-chan.  It's going to melt if you don't hurry!"

As Touko took a tiny bite of ice cream, grumbling under her breath, Komaru focused again on the back of her brother's head.  (Touko had insisted on sitting on the side of the table that would have her facing away from the men, because she "wasn't worthy of directly witnessing Byakuya-sama's pure knightly aura" or something.  It didn't stop her from peeking over her shoulder every few minutes, though.)  To be honest, Komaru wasn't entirely sure _why_ she had wanted to tail her brother; it was definitely part revenge, and maybe part curiosity, but it was also part something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

But whatever that something was, it was nagging her endlessly in response to what she was seeing.  She tapped her spoon against the table, pondering.

"You know, Touko-chan... I don't think they're really talking."

Touko anxiously glanced behind her.  "We're not close enough to hear them."

"Well yeah, but they don't _look_ like they're talking."  Komaru huffed, resting her elbows on the table.  "Like, Togami-san's lips aren't moving at _all_ , except to drink his coffee."

"D-don't stare at his l-l- _lips_!"

"And I can't see Oniichan's face," she continued, disregarding her friend's retort, "but he's not, like... moving around like he does when he talks.  What's the word?"

"Gesticulating?  What, is he a foreigner?"

"He doesn't move around _that_ much, but still..."  Komaru frowned in her brother's direction, as if trying to glare a hole through the back of his head would spur him into action.  What was he _doing_?  Going by Makoto's body language, it was pretty clear that he was just sitting at the table awkwardly without saying a word—Komaru doubted he had even touched much of the sandwich he had ordered.

It occurred to her that the third factor that had brought her there was actually _concern_.  She was worried about her brother... but she wasn't entirely sure why.  It wasn't like he was at risk of blowing a date or anything like that.

...Oh.   _Oh_.  Komaru hid her growing grin behind a hand, trying to suppress the laughter bubbling up in her chest.  It wouldn't be fair to Touko if she suddenly started giggling about her sudden revelation.

Gosh, that definitely made things a lot more complicated, but at the same time it was _so interesting_.  It was like Komaru's favorite kind of steamy manga plot!

"Wh-what are you leering about?"  Touko looked over her shoulder, frowning.  "Nothing happened. Why are you being so w-weird?"

"It's nothing!"  Komaru waved her hands in front of her, giving up on her failed attempt to conceal her expression.  "Nothing at all, don't worry about it!"

Touko turned back towards Komaru briefly, before her eyes suddenly grew wide behind her glasses.  She quickly glanced at the two men before fixing her friend with a glare.  "Don't tell me you're _shipping them_!" she hissed.

"I'm not!"

" _Komaru!_ "

"Well okay maybe a little!" she admitted.  "I'm sorry!  But don't you think they'd kinda look cute together?"

"You're d-disgusting," Touko spat.  "Just like the rest of your godforsaken manga club.  Here I thought y-you were on my side."

"I am on your side!" Komaru insisted—though she had to admit that maybe her loyalties were a little torn now.  Just a _little_.  "I'll support you, Touko-chan, I promise!  Look, if you want to go up and say hi to Togami-san I'll be right there with you."

Touko's response was a strange mix of expressions, mostly of apprehension and fear.  "L-like I could do that!"

"You totally could!  But you have about five seconds to make a decision because he's about to walk right past us."

"Wh-what?!"  Touko made a panicked scramble, catapulting her ice cream spoon across the table, and opened up a menu to shield her face just as the blond man passed their table.

Komaru felt jittery with nerves, knowing that their booth probably looked a little ridiculous—one girl hiding behind a menu, the other wearing the _least_ inconspicuous disguise possible, and melted parfait splattered across the tabletop—but Togami barely spared them a glance as he strode towards the door.

Only after Togami left the restaurant, the door jingle fading away, did Touko peek past the menu again.  "H-he's gone?  Did your brother do something stupid?"

"I wasn't paying too much attention, but I think he just left normally."  Komaru turned her attention back to Makoto, his back hunched as he signed the credit card bill.

As he stood to exit, Komaru grinned, waiting for the perfect time to strike, right when Makoto was about to pass their table—

"So, how was your hot date?"

Makoto nearly jumped right out of his hoodie, before recognizing his sister behind the sunglasses and sighing.  "Komaru, what are you doing here...?"

"We're tailing you, duh."  She reached up and tugged at her brother's sleeve, urging him into the booth.  "Now come on, have a seat!  And have some of this parfait too, we're not gonna finish it."  She scooped up a spoonful of soupy ice cream and shoved it into Makoto's face as he slumped into the booth beside her.  He kept his mouth firmly shut in a frown, resulting in little more than smearing the cream over his cheek and lips.

"Could you two p-possibly be more incestuous?" Touko groused from the other side of the table.  "It's bad enough I had to witness Byakuya-sama being snatched from under my nose, now you're just m-making me sick...!"

"Whoa, wait, hold on."  Makoto used his sleeve to rub the ice cream from his face, flustered, and turned to look at the writer.  "Fukawa-san, you have it all wrong!  I'm not trying to take Togami-san from anybody, and Komaru and I definitely aren't—"

"So what was that, then?" Komaru broke in, nodding towards the door from which Togami had exited just a few minutes earlier.  "Sure looked to me like a new couple's uncomfortable first date."

"Wha—!"  Makoto glanced nervously at Touko's dour expression before focusing back on his sister.  "This was all your idea in the first place, anyway!  I knew it would be awkward, so I have no idea why I listened to you..."

"It was awkward _because_ you didn't listen to me," Komaru pointed out.  "The original plan was to have me and Touko-chan there too, remember?"

"I really don't think that would have made much difference..."

"Oh, come on."  Komaru leaned an elbow against the table, grinning devilishly at her brother.  "Without our feminine powers to point you in the right direction, you were _totally_ lost.  You needed a wingwoman or two to help salvage that disaster."

"N-no way am I being _his_ wingwoman!"

"Wait, wait.  Wait."  Makoto looked rapidly between the two girls, his cheeks beginning to grow red.  "Why do you keep acting like that was a _date_?  I don't get why—"

"Okay, so why are _you_ acting exactly like you used to act about that singer girl in middle school?" Komaru said pointedly.

Makoto fell silent, his blush deepening.  "Am I really...?" he asked softly.

"Sure are."  Komaru grinned cheekily.  "So spill it.  Do you _like_ him?  Is it his face?  Did he say some nice things to you?"

"I—"  Makoto leaned away from his sister, shaking his head.  "He didn't say _anything_ to me today at all, really."

That was fair enough; Komaru had seen that for herself.  Just as she was about to turn her line of questioning elsewhere, though—

"What do you mean 'today'?"

Touko's accusatory tone broke through the space between them, steady and sure, and Komaru's eyes widened.  "Yeah," she added, catching on to the weak point, too.  "What _do_ you mean by 'today,' Oniichan?  What's with the specificity?"

Makoto wore an expression like that of a cornered prey, the blush fading as his face paled.  "What do you... There's no special meaning, really?  I just—"

"There'd be no reason for you to qualify your statement with 'today,'" Touko said, her calmness contrasted by the way she gripped the edge of the table—with enough fury that it seemed to be just moments from splintering between her fingers.  "Unless, of course, Byakuya-sama charmed you with something he said previously?"

Makoto was silent, gaze flickering between the two girls nervously, but to Komaru that was as clear as if he had shouted the answer from the restaurant rooftop.

"No way, _seriously_?!" she gushed, eagerly leaning into her brother's personal space.  "What did he say?!  I've only ever heard that the guy's a total asshole and there's no _way_ you're into that kind of stuff the way Touko-chan is, so what in the world did he say?!"

Makoto raised his hands in defense.  "Komaru, I don't—"

"Confess, Makoto Naegi!" Touko demanded, her knuckles turning white and her gaze pure acid.  "Give me reason to believe you aren't pursuing Byakuya-sama and I won't consider you a rival!  But during this _entire_ conversation, you have yet to deny a romantic interest in him!"

Makoto gaped blankly at the two girls, mouth flapping uselessly, and as Komaru watched, she practically see the gears turning in his head, running back their conversation to find a point of rebuttal, and when he ultimately came up with nothing—

His blush returned full-force.

"I guess," Makoto started, slowly, carefully, as he tried to hide his face in his hood, "I can... agree with Fukawa-san that he's... pretty cool."

If Makoto hadn't been on such friendly terms with the restaurant owner, Touko's indignant screech would have certainly gotten them a lifetime ban from the establishment.  As it was, the girls were tersely asked to leave immediately after paying their bill.

But that was okay.  Komaru got what she came for—even more than what she expected, really.  And when it came down to it, she had a bigger worry than having caused a public disturbance.

Komaru didn't want to have to pick sides; how could she possibly choose between her best friend and her brother?

But, from an objective standpoint, she had to admit that Makoto had the upper hand.

* * *

"You know," Komaru said to Touko, on the train home a half hour later, "you might want to think about finally writing that love letter now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of this particular story, but I want to come back and write more about these four later! There's still so much fun to be had... :)


	4. Advent Calendar, Doors 1-6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> During the last few days of NaNoWriMo, I had several thousand words left to write, but I was running out of projects to work on. So, I started jotting down ideas and hadcanons for Waiting for Rainbows which I had never considered substantial enough to write on their own before.
> 
> The result, in addition to a NaNoWriMo win (!), was a collection of disjointed scenes and ficlets that I thought would be nice to post daily to my tumblr during December for an advent calendar sort of thing! So that's what I've been doing ([here's a nice chronological link for you](http://umekopyon.tumblr.com/tagged/kibougaoka-advent-calendar/chrono)). I'm crossposting them here in batches of six, and, well... it's December 6. So here's the first batch!

**Door 1**

Chihiro Fujisaki was a bit proud of how far he had come.

His teachers had constantly fretted about how he wouldn't be able to cope in the real world if he kept missing classes, opting to instead stay home with his father and bury himself in programming work, away from any would-be tormentors. In the end, though, his extensive portfolio of personal projects had gotten him a job offer at a game development studio right out of high school. At the age of eighteen, entering the workforce in an environment where he was surrounded by like-minded individuals, and allowed to focus on the kind of work he had always loved, he felt that he truly thrived for the first time in his life. He was even becoming more comfortable with appearing to dress as a man in public—though, in truth, he still wore women's slacks, if only because they fit him better.

It wasn't exactly an ideal success story, and he wouldn't suggest that same method to anyone looking for guidance, but it had ultimately worked out well for him. He'd just been a little bit lucky.

Interacting with coworkers outside of a work setting, however, still begged for improvement. He tended to gently turn down any invitations to mixers or to go bar-hopping, and on the occasions that he couldn't find a suitable excuse, he tried to stay quietly on the sidelines, far from the center of attention.

So he had come to really dread his birthday.

"Hey, Fujisaki!" Chihiro had barely taken two steps into the office when one of his coworkers from the programming team clapped him heartily on the back. "Happy birthday! Ready for the big party after work today?"

Chihiro grimaced, but he knew there was only one answer he could give without being branded a social outcast. He was starting to wish he had called out for the day—it was a Saturday, after all. "I guess so," he said carefully. "But, I mean, it's not going to be a _big_ party, right? Just, um, drinks and stuff...?"

"Well, yeah!" His coworker grinned widely as they walked together to their workstations. "But this year, it's the entire studio going out, you know."

Chihiro paused halfway through setting down his bag. "The whole studio?" he repeated, hoping his voice wasn't shaking too noticeably. "What for? Usually it's just the programming team..."

"Apparently one of the testers in QA has a birthday today, too." His coworker shrugged. "So might as well just make it a big group gathering!"

Someone else's birthday... Chihiro wasn't sure if that information was encouraging or not. On the one hand, he'd be stuck in a much larger and rowdier crowd than in previous years... but on the other hand, there was someone else who would be receiving attention. And maybe they were the type of person who enjoyed parties and socializing. Chihiro certainly wouldn't mind giving up his share of the limelight to them.

"Well... okay," he agreed finally. He just hoped the experience wouldn't be too unbearable.

* * *

**Door 2**

"And don't fucking follow us, okay?!"

Peko stood silently just outside the koban as she watched her young master walk off with Hinata. His words didn't hurt her, really; that brash way of talking was simply the norm for him, and it was perfectly understandable that he would want to be left alone with his lover. So she didn't feel betrayed, or even lonely.

She just felt... somewhat lost.

The door creaked open beside her, and the other officer stationed in Kibougaoka looked outside—Kyoko Kirigiri, if Peko remembered her name correctly. "He's quite attached to Hinata-kun, isn't he?" she commented.

Peko regarded her for a moment before facing dutifully ahead. "Yes. I'm glad that my young master has found someone that makes him happy."

Kirigiri was silent a beat, then leaned against the frame of the door, her shoulder inches from Peko's. "Are you, now?"

Peko turned a glare in the officer's direction. "Do you doubt my devotion to Young Master's well-being?"

"Of course not," Kirigiri sighed, pulling a pin from her bun to let her silvery hair flow freely. "But you're still human, aren't you?"

Peko didn't answer. Sometimes she wondered about that.

The two women were silent for a few long moments, before Kirigiri pushed herself away from the door frame, standing upright. "I still have some paperwork to do, but I think I'll leave that for tomorrow morning and lock up now. You're not going to just stand there all night, are you?"

Peko shifted on her feet. "If you would like me to relocate, I'll do so. I'll simply let my young master know where to find me should he need me."

"That's not what I mean." Kirigiri had grabbed her jacket and was pulling the door closed, locking it securely. "Regardless of where you are, it's a shame for you to be standing by yourself. Would you like to go get a drink?"

Peko simply blinked, having difficulty registering the words. "Young Master told me quite clearly not to follow him. And besides..." She fidgeted just slightly. "A place like Kagayaki... that's not exactly..."

"Oh, I'm not fond of pubs like that either," Kirigiri assured her with a slight smile. "Are you opposed to going to the next town over?"

* * *

**Door 3**

"Hey, Hinata. Ever been to Ni-chome?"

Hinata froze. "Um," he said hesitantly, "have _you_?"

Kuzuryu cocked an eyebrow. "Why would I ever go to the gay Mecca of Tokyo if I didn't think I'd be into guys before you?"

"Right, of course." Hinata laughed nervously. "So, uh... why do you ask?"

The yakuza sighed, leaning backwards against the desk. "It's just that we've got nowhere to _go_ , you know? Nowhere where we can, like..." He waved a hand in the air ambiguously. "Be normal together. But Ni-chome isn't that far, so maybe we should go there sometime?"

Hinata grimaced. "Um... that's an idea, but the guys stationed in that area of Shinjuku live on the same floor as me, so..."

"Ughhh." Kuzuryu threw his head back dramatically. "You and your dumb boys in blue club. Why do you know so many people?"

"Sorry," Hinata laughed. "It sort of comes with the job, so..."

They were silent together in the koban for a moment or two, before suddenly Kuzuryu sat up ramrod straight and spun around to face Hinata. "Wait, you never answered the question!"

Hinata averted his eyes. "What question?"

"Have you ever been to Ni-chome?"

"We've already eliminated the possibility of going there though."

"Yeah, but you're dodging the question!" He pointed at Hinata accusingly. "You _have_ been there, haven't you? And you must have done something there that you don't want me to know about! Did you hook up with some other guy after all?"

"What? No!" Hinata shook his head fervently. "No, it's nothing like that! Look, I went there once or twice in college, okay? But it's, uh..." He faltered a bit. "I just don't know what to tell you beyond what you've probably already heard? I didn't really venture too far into the culture there, I just had some drinks at a generic izakaya. I mean, I was still sort of coming to terms with my sexuality at that point."

Kuzuryu peered at him suspiciously. "Generic, as opposed to...?"

"Uh..." Hinata averted his gaze again. "I mean, a lot of the places in Ni-chome's underbelly are targeted towards... specific fetishes and tastes. All that was a bit too heavy for me back then."

"Hmm..." Kuzuryu stared at him, deep in thought. "And now?"

"Huh?"

"You have a better idea about your tastes now, right? So what are your fetishes?"

Hinata flushed to the tips of his ears. "Excuse me?!"

"You heard me." Kuzuryu grinned wickedly. "What are you into? This isn't something you should be keeping secret from your boyfriend, is it?"

Hinata stammered for a bit before managing to form words. "Kuzuryu, I'm at work."

"Oh bullshit. No one else is here." Kuzuryu propped himself against the desk to lean in closer. "And don't you dare try to argue that it's none of my business, because it definitely fucking is."

Hinata fidgeted nervously. "I mean... well, I guess if I had to say..."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe I have... a Kuzuryu fetish?"

He glanced at his boyfriend experimentally, and was pleased to see him turning just as red as Hinata himself had been. "Wha— what are you—" He spluttered indignantly, trying to find his words. "That's not a fucking fetish, you dumbass!"

"Quiet down, people will hear!" Hinata said, even as he broke into laughter.

Yeah, that was the best way to describe his tastes.

* * *

**Door 4**

Mondo Owada's first impression of Makoto Naegi was that he was small, scrawny, and really not cut out for construction work. It was a wonder to him what he was even doing there, but his site manager had insisted that the kid was well-known for his work ethic, so he gave him a chance.

And as it turned out... Owada had been absolutely right. Naegi _sucked_ at construction.

He struggled to move materials, even with the aid of a wheelbarrow or other equipment. He had a tendency to trip over anything strewn about the site. And by god, there was no way in _hell_ Owada would trust that walking disaster to operate any sort of power tools.

"Hey," he grunted on Naegi's second night on the job, after pulling away a hand saw that Naegi could barely get to move. "What are you even doing here, anyway?"

Naegi blinked up at him owlishly, and Owada'd be damned if the kid didn't look just like a little puppy right then, but puppies _didn't fucking belong on construction sites_. "I'm... trying to do my job?"

"No, I mean..." Owada sighed deeply. "What are you doing _here_? Do you really think you have what it takes to work construction?"

"Oh... that." Naegi laughed sheepishly. "Honestly... no. At least, after yesterday and today, I'm positive that I don't. But, well, I was looking for overnight work, and I thought I might as well give it a try, right?" He grinned back up at Owada weakly. "But I'm not a quitter. As long as I'm still employed here, I'm going to try my best, even if it doesn't go as well as I'd hope."

Owada stared down at the kid. That was... a pretty manly declaration to make. He wouldn't have thought Naegi had it in him, but it was definitely something that he could respect.

He slapped an encouraging hand on Naegi's shoulder before heading back to his own assignment. "I still think you're out of your element," he said, "but I'm rooting for you, kid."

Two days later, Naegi was dismissed from the job.

Owada was actually sad to see him go.

* * *

**Door 5**

  


* * *

**Door 6**

Just as Chihiro had expected, the outing was large and crowded, to the point that he felt like he was almost drowning in a sea of people. He was just glad that, being a weekend, there had been several absences at work that day; if it really _had_ been the entire development studio there in that party room, he had his doubts that anyone would have enough space left to breathe.

Within a cacophonous chorus of "happy birthday"s, a drink was pushed into his hands, and Chihiro took a hesitant sip as he tried to navigate through the crowd. His nose wrinkled and he began to cough; he had been of legal drinking age for exactly one year now, but he still couldn't get used to the bitterness at the back of his tongue and the slight burning in his sinuses. He didn't let go of the glass, though—he knew that a fresh one would immediately appear in its place, and it was better for the drinks to go to people who would actually consume them.

Eventually, he managed to find himself in a crowd that was significantly less concentrated on him, but with far less people he actually knew by name. Hesitantly, he wandered through them, hoping no one would flag him down for a chat, when he saw a young woman with shoulder-length light brown hair sitting at one of the tables, being inundated with drinks and attention just the same as he had been.

So that must be the QA tester with the same birthday. Chihiro hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should sneak off elsewhere lest he be caught up in her own wave of attention, but then he realized—

She looked just as perplexed and lost as he felt in the situation.

Chihiro gripped his glass anxiously. He wanted nothing more than to get out of there, but it just didn't feel right to leave her to metaphorically drown... Before he could rethink the his actions, Chihiro stepped forward and sat himself be next to her. If they were going to be the focus of unwanted attention, they might as well be in good company. He cleared his throat, suddenly a little unsure, and greeted her. "Um, hi."

She looked at him sleepily for a moment before finally bobbing her head in a slight bow. "Fujisaki-sempai. Happy birthday."

"You know who I am? I mean—" Chihiro bit his lip nervously, worried that he had already messed up at social interaction. "Uh, happy birthday to you too. And, um... I'm sorry, what's your name...?"

"Oh, right." She smiled gently. "I'm Chiaki Nanami, from the QA team. But I want to do programming someday." She sipped the drink in her hands cautiously, then frowned down at it in distaste. Either she had a similar aversion towards alcohol, or their coworkers were serving them _really_ bad booze. "That's how I know your name, by the way. And also because I've seen it in the tickets."

"Oh, uh... right." Now that she mentioned it, he'd frequently seen the name "Nanami" in their bug tracking system, too. His ears burned from the embarrassment of never trying to place faces to those names, and he tried to think of some way to change the subject. "Um, so, you're probably a little disappointed to be in QA instead of programming, right? It won't be too easy working yourself out of there."

Nanami hummed thoughtfully. "Not... really? I actually kind of like testing." Her smile grew a little wider. "I just really like playing games, I think. And I've always played games over and over again anyway, so I don't really find it boring to—"

"Wait, wait wait _wait_!" Chihiro raised his hands, gesturing for her to stop talking. "Nanami-san, you can't _say_ things like that!"

She cocked her head to one side. "Why not?"

"Because that makes you the _perfect_ game tester!" He leaned towards her, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "No one actually _likes_ testing. If you ever want to make your way out of QA Hell, you can't let those in charge know that you enjoy it!"

Nanami blinked slowly. "Oh... I get it. I think."

"Yeah." He sat back again, returning to a normal volume. "Still, it's hard to get into programming from QA. Are you working on your own projects in your free time?"

"Yeah, whenever I'm not working or sleeping. Or... dragged to places like this." She flicked at her glass boredly. "Sometimes I forget to eat though."

Chihiro laughed. "I've had times like that. But you should take care of yourself!"

"Uh-huh." Nanami looked at him again thoughtfully. "You know, the rest of this party is kind of boring, but it's pretty fun to talk with you, Sempai."

He chuckled again. "Well, that's probably because we seem to be alike in a lot of ways."

"Like our birthdays?"

"Yeah, there's that too." Chihiro grinned. "Maybe next year we should try to celebrate just us, then. I think that would be more fun."

Nanami smiled. "I'd like that, I think."


	5. Advent Calendar, Doors 7-12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, looking at this batch as a whole, most of these aren't very happy! Sorry about that!
> 
> (1/5/18 - APPARENTLY THIS CHAPTER???? NEVER GOT POSTED????? IT'S JUST BEEN SITTING IN DRAFTS FOR WEEKS????????? oh my god I’m so sorry)

**Door 7**

_> You're Byakuya Togami, right?! (#｀皿´)/_

Togami glared down at his phone screen with distaste.  A message from an unregistered sender.  It wasn't entirely out of the ordinary for uncouth children to try trolling him as a way of staving off boredom, but...

Usually they didn't manage to find his personal texting address.

He decided to ignore it—if they sent another message, he'd simply block the number—and was about to put his phone away when it buzzed with another notification.

_> Since when are you texting buddies with my big brother?!_

Togami raised an eyebrow at the message.  He wouldn't classify himself as "texting buddies" with anyone, really... but now he was somewhat intrigued.  Who was this individual harassing him via text message?  There were several people he communicated with on that email address who had younger siblings, so that didn't do much to narrow it down.  But whoever it was, he would _not_ tolerate someone within his social circles giving out his personal email without discretion.

Putting off the decision to block, Togami tapped out a short reply in response.

_> Identify yourself._

He only had to wait a few seconds before receiving his answer.

_> Komaru Naegi!  And if you're really Byakuya Togami, then Oniichan's just not playing fair!_

_Naegi..._  Togami massaged his temple in exasperation.  He didn't believe that the good-natured part-timer would give away private contact information, but he could easily imagine him carelessly leaving his phone unattended for a nosy little sister to poke around in.  He'd have to give him a stern warning about that.

For the moment, though, he had the sister to attend to.

_> Stop speaking nonsense.  Why are you contacting me?_

He tapped the edge of his phone impatiently as he waited, his desire to just block the sister growing with every passing second.  Finally, after three minutes, he received a response.

_> My friend reeeeeally wants to meet you and I've been trying to get Oniichan to set up a meeting but he's not cooperating at all.  It's totally unfair to his romantic rival, so to level the playing field, I'm asking you directly.  So can you please meet up with my friend Touko-chan?!_

Togami rolled his eyes so hard it nearly gave him a headache.  So much utter tripe in a single text message... Naegi _had_ mentioned a friend of his sister's wanting to meet him, but Togami could not possibly be interested less.  If he arranged meetings with every female who wanted to court him, he'd have no time to conduct the very business that made him attractive to them in the first place.

 _> I'm not interested_, he typed back, immediately navigating to the appropriate menus to block her number.

Just before the he could confirm the block, though, one last message of hers managed to sneak through.

_> Gosh, do you really like Oniichan THAT much?  I didn't expect it of him, but he must be playing even dirtier than I expected if he already has you so thoroughly in the palm of his hand._

Togami's gaze sharpened into a harsh glare.  That sister was truly delusional; he most decidedly was _not_ infatuated with Makoto Naegi, and certainly not by any manipulations on Naegi's part.

He jabbed the block button harder than might have been entirely necessary.

* * *

**Door 8**

The cafe they stepped into was warm, and not just in temperature; low orange lighting, deep mahogany furnishings, and a soft, orchestral tune flowed through the establishment, enveloping its patrons in a rich, cozy atmosphere.

It was much more favorable to Peko than a typical pub.

"Do you come here often?" she asked Kirigiri as they settled into a booth.

The officer chuckled wryly.  "No, not very.  I certainly would like to, but between work and finances, it just doesn't always work out."

"Hinata seems to be able to find time for going out," Peko pointed out.

Kirigiri gave a small smile.  "Well, Hinata-kun is... different from me.  He..."  She paused, her expression changing minutely before she spoke again.  "He's in love, for one thing."

"Ahh."  Peko looked down, running a hand along the finely finished tabletop.  "My young master seems to be, as well."

"Imagine that."  Amusement ringing clearly in her voice, Kirigiri pointed to the menu laid flat on the table.  "I'd recommend the their special blend if you're not sure what to get.  It's a nice balance."

"Ah, thank you."  Peko looked at the menu for a moment longer, carefully considering her next choice of words.  "I hate to sound rude, but..."

"Hmm?"

Peko turned her gaze towards Kirigiri.  "Why did you invite me out tonight?"

Kirigiri stared at her for a long moment, silent and expressionless, until the server came to take their orders.  Only after the server had left again did Kirigiri lean forward, folding her hands neatly on the table before she spoke again.  "Pekoyama-san, if you'll allow me to be blunt..."

"Yes?"

"I think you feel more emotions than you would like to admit."

Peko furrowed her brow.  "Why would you think that?"

"Because, loathe as I am to admit it, I'm the same way."  Kirigiri's lips tugged into a small smirk.  "Tell me, are you jealous of Hinata-kun?"

Peko frowned.  "I am in no position to be jealous of him."

"I notice that you haven't denied it, though."  Kirigiri sat back, folding her arms across her chest.  "Do you harbor romantic feelings for Kuzuryu-kun?"

Peko felt irritation prickling at the edge of her consciousness, but she took a deep breath to calm herself.  Being combative wasn't the appropriate reaction here.  "I... wouldn't say that, no," she said honestly.  "Perhaps I used to, but if I did, I didn't identify it as such at the time.  Either way, Young Master's safety and happiness takes precedence over everything.  If he finds that with Hinata, then I want nothing more than for them to be together."  She paused.  "But... my purpose up until now has been to watch over my young master.  I wouldn't say that I'm jealous, but..."

"But it hurts to feel like you aren't needed."

Silence fell between them for several moments. "Yes," Peko agreed finally. "I suppose that's true." After a pause, she added, "I'm sure Young Master means no harm, though."

"Certainly," Kirigiri agreed with a chuckle. "They're both suffering from a bit of tunnel vision at the moment. I think we can forgive them of that for now."

The server returned, placing their drinks in on the table with soft clinks—the special blend for Peko, and café amore for Kirigiri—before leaving them to themselves again.

"Well," Kirigiri said as she picked up her glass, "let's not dwell on their thick-headedness right now. That's what our workdays are for."

Chuckling, Peko reached for her cup in kind. "Yes, I think you're right."

They quieted into a comfortable silence as they let their drinks warm their bodies—feeling that, despite being on opposite ends of the law, they were both in kindred company.

* * *

**Door 9**

"Does this even look interesting at all?"

"If your friend's as big of a car freak as you say, then probably."

Hinata tilted his phone from side to side experimentally, trying to find the best angle that didn't reveal a license plate number or a Kuzuryu crest.

There were three black sports cars lined up in the garage.  They were sleek and shiny and... that was really all that Hinata was able to tell, as someone who knew very little about cars beyond how to operate one.  He wasn't really sure what sort of car pictures Souda would appreciate, but he snapped a few shots of the hood, the wheels (?), and even one of the exhaust pipe (???).

"I don't know if this is what he'd want to see," Hinata muttered as he scrolled through his photo roll.

"I've got an idea," Kuzuryu spoke up, grinning.  "Wanna make him jealous?  You go sit in the driver's seat, and I'll take a picture of that."

"What?!"  Hinata glanced at the car nervously.  "No, I couldn't... I don't even understand what's so great about these cars, so—"

"And it'll make him burn with jealousy even more.  So go on, live a little."  Kuzuryu sauntered over, plucking Hinata's phone from his hands, and opened the driver's side door.  "Give it a try."

Hesitantly, Hinata climbed into the car, careful not to scuff the upholstery as he did.  He settled into the seat, and— oh.  That was actually _really_ comfortable.

"Nice, huh?" Kuzuryu said, leaning over the car door to look down at him.

"Yeah."  Hinata ran a careful hand over the middle console, and then along the steering wheel.  "I mean, sitting in here like this, even I can tell how high-quality it is."

"Right?"  Kuzuryu grinned.  "So you have your driver's license, right?"

"Yeah, it was required for— hold on, what?!"  Pulled out of his amazement over the car's design, he whipped his head back towards Kuzuryu.  "You want me to _drive it_?!  I can't—!"

"I was just kidding."  Kuzuryu pushed the door closed.  "For now, at least.  If you wanna join the clan, I could make you my personal chauffeur."

"I'm not joining, Kuzuryu."

"Yeah, yeah."  Kuzuryu walked backwards with the phone raised, trying to find a good angle to take the picture from.  "Hey, try to look smug or something."

"Why are you so intent on getting Souda riled up?  You don't even know him."

Kuzuryu rolled his eyes.  "Fine, whatever.  At least make it look like you're kind of having a good time in there."

Well, that was easy enough.  Hinata had never been in the driver's seat of a car that was so _fancy_ —and he knew he probably never would again—so he let himself indulge in the moment and bask in the natural glory of the car.

He heard the camera snap once, then twice, and Kuzuryu seemed satisfied with the way the pictures turned out.  "Yup, looks good."

Hinata began to open the door to get out.  "Can I see—"

"Hold on, stay in there for a second."

Hinata froze, his hand on the handle.  "What is it?"

Kuzuryu reached the driver's side again, leaning on the lowered window as he had before.  "Look at me for a second."

Hinata raised an eyebrow.  "Uh, I _am_ looking at you, what are you—"  He was abruptly cut off when Kuzuryu leaned over and kissed him.

Though shocked at first, Hinata quickly melted into the kiss, reaching up to cradle Kuzuryu's jaw in his hand.  He gently coaxed Kuzuryu's lips open, gaining access to explore the other's mouth, their tongues entwining, and—

_Click!_

Hinata pulled away, the sudden sound alerting him to the possibility of someone else seeing them... but the only one there was Kuzuryu, grinning wickedly, his arm outstretched and holding—

"Kuzuryu!" he gasped, lunging an arm through the window to grab the phone, but the yakuza swiftly stepped back and out of reach.  "Give that back!  Did you just—"

Grin unfading, Kuzuryu fiddled with the phone, deliberately keeping the screen out of Hinata's sight.  "Damn, looks like my finger covered the lens a little bit, but other than that, not bad."

Hinata felt his cheeks grow warm.  "You really took a selfie of that?!"

"Yup.  A present for you to do with as you see fit."  He finally returned and handed over the phone.  "Delete it if you really want, but I already sent it over to my phone, so I think that'd just be a waste."

Red-faced, Hinata took his phone and looked at his photos.  Sure enough, there it was, photographic evidence of him locking lips with the heir to the Kuzuryu Clan.

Not that he was ashamed of it, of course, but...

...well, come to think of it, what _was_ the problem?  Beyond the initial embarrassment, kissing selfies were a pretty normal thing for couples to do, weren't they?  Though he obviously couldn't make it his lock screen or anything.

"No," he said finally.  "I think I'll keep it.  There's just one problem with it, though..."

"Besides my finger?"

"Besides your finger."

"What's that?"

Hinata smirked.  "Well, I just feel like that kiss didn't last nearly long enough.  What do you think?"

Kuzuryu leaned through the window again, grinning deviously.  "I think that sounds like something we can easily fix."

* * *

**Door 10**

Life was hard.

Life was especially hard after Yoi-chan left.

But still, maybe Ruruka shouldn't have tried hiring new help while buzzed on mimosas.

She sighed as she watched her new hire stumble about the shop.  Of course he wouldn't be a sufficient replacement for Yoi-chan when it was only his first day on the job, but so far she just wasn't terribly impressed with Makoto Naegi.  He was clueless, and clumsy, and too compliant, and when he laughed bashfully at himself he was so _cute_ it made Ruruka want to _barf_.

Honestly, she was already growing bored of him.  If she was going to keep the kid around, she'd have to find some way he could be more useful to her.  What had he said he was studying in school?  Some kind of psychology?  That seemed kind of worthless, but...

"Hey, Naegi," Ruruka said, leaning over the counter.  "Can you help me?"

Naegi blinked at her blankly for a moment, before looking back at the breads he was setting on display.  "Um, I already am?"

"Not with the shop," she said, waving a hand flippantly.  "I mean yeah, keep doing that, but like... can't you do your psychologist thing for me?"

"You mean... psychoanalyze you?"  Naegi shook his head.  "N-no, I'm not really—"

"Pleeeeease?" she cooed, giving the best puppy-dog eyes she could muster.  "I could _really_ use the help..."

Naegi seemed to rethink his options, then sighed.  "Well, I guess... I can try my best?  What do you want me to help you with?"

Ruruka wove her fingers together and propped her chin atop them.  "Tell me why Yoi-chan left me."

"Uh..."  Naegi let his gaze wander.  "Yoi-chan... that's your ex-boyfriend, right?  I don't... really have experience with romance and stuff..."

Ruruka scrunched her nose at the way his cheeks turned red.  God, he was so cute it was _gross_.

"Anyway," Naegi continued, "why do _you_ think he left?"

She scoffed.  "Because he's a meanie-butt, duh."

"No, I mean..."  He waved his hands aimlessly as if trying to grab the words out of thin air.  "Like... what happened?  Did he give you a reason for dumping you?"

"Oh, Yoi-chan didn't dump me."  Ruruka inspected her nails boredly.  "I was the one who dumped him.  He was gonna leave, so I broke it off before he could hurt me instead."

Naegi paused, fiddling with the packaged bread.  "So he... didn't want to break up with you?  Did he say why he was going to leave?"

Ruruka laughed bitterly.  "Oh, he wouldn't _stop_ talking about it.  He was offered this blacksmithing apprenticeship in Gifu, and I couldn't go with him.  So instead of staying here with me, he decided to choose the dumb apprenticeship."

Naegi was silent for a moment.  "So... was he planning to come back eventually?"

"That's what he _said_ ," Ruruka sneered.  "Said he wanted to ensure a better future for us by honing his craft or whatever.  Like I can trust that.  What's the point if he has to leave me behind?  He just wanted the abandon me, just like Seiko-chan did with her stupid big city hospital job."

For a long while, neither of them spoke.  Naegi seemed to be shifting his weight uncomfortably as he organized his thoughts.  Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.  "Andoh-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you maybe have... some sort of persecution complex?"

Ruruka stared at him blankly.  The kid was visibly uncomfortable, unable to meet her gaze, and after a while she sighed and opened the cash register with a cheery _ding_.  She pulled out a few bills, then, shoving the drawer closed, she waved the money at him.  "Okay, here you go."

Naegi stared at the money in confusion.  "Wait, what...?"

"I've thought about it, and I guess I can run this place by myself after all."  She shrugged.  "So here's your pay for today.  You can go on home and don't bother coming in tomorrow."

"Oh..."  Cautiously, Naegi accepted the cash—and if Ruruka's eyes weren't deceiving her, he actually looked a little _relieved_.  But of course he did.  Everyone wanted to leave her eventually.  "Um, okay.  Should I just... leave now, then?"

"Yup."  She snapped her gum and waved him out boredly.  "Bye-bye, Naegi."

He turned to leave, then paused halfway across the floor before turning back towards her meekly.  "Um, Andoh-san, I really think you should maybe talk to a qualified counselor... I can find a good psychological clinic for you if—"

"I _said_ you can go now, Naegi," she cut in, more pointed in shooing him out the door this time.  "I don't need your help anymore, so scram."

"Ah, well... If you're sure..."  He glanced back towards the door.  "Just, um, keep it in mind, okay?"

Naegi gave a shallow bow, and Ruruka watched as he finally stepped out of the door.

Yup.  Everyone left her someday.

Life was hard like that.

* * *

**Door 11**

_> Yoi-chan, I had to walk home all by myself again today!  Can you believe how cold Hinata is?_

_> Yoi-chan, Hanamura wouldn't make my drink the way I wanted tonight!  He said he was out of the juice but he must have forgotten to stock it just to spite me, don't you think?_

_> Yoi-chan! Someone came into the store today, and they left without buying ANYTHING!  They must have thought my sweets looked terrible!  What's wrong with their eyes?!_

Cell phone reception was spotty at his apprenticeship site, but whenever Izayoi did pick up the slightest bit of signal, his phone would fill with text alerts from Ruruka.

Seeing them made him smile.  The two of them might be broken up, at least nominally, but she still sent messages to him on a regular basis.  Sure, they were mostly complaints, but that wasn't too much different from when he was still in Kibougaoka—there were just far fewer sweet nothings interspersed throughout.

Either way, it was good to see that Ruruka was still the same, that their separation hadn't changed her drastically.  And once he finished his apprenticeship, she'd be waiting for him back in Kibougaoka, still the same woman that he loved.

* * *

**Door 12**

"And then he blocked my _third_ email address, too! Can you believe it, Oniichan?!"

"Um, yeah, I can, actually. What I _can't_ believe is that you have the audacity to still be badgering Byakuya Togami like that."

"That's 'cause you won't help a girl out in setting up her best friend!"

"Komaru, can we talk about this when I'm not mid-delivery?"

Standing outside the convenience store, Kuzuryu heard them before they came into sight: Makoto Naegi, delivery box in hand, and a girl he had never seen before following Naegi with her hands on her hips.

"Fine then!" With a huff, the girl turned and headed back in the opposite direction. "I'm staying over tonight, though, and we'll talk then!"

Once the girl was out of sight, Naegi sighed and continued on his way.

"Having some family problems?" Kuzuryu commented as the brunet walked by.

Naegi stopped for a moment, apparently just noticing Kuzuryu for the first time, and laughed bashfully. "Yeah, uh... it's a long, weird story."

Kuzuryu nodded silently, digging his hands into his pockets to try to look as casual as possible. "I, uh... didn't know you have a younger sister."

"Huh?" Naegi blinked at him. "Oh, yeah... that's Komaru." He chuckled a bit. "Do you have any siblings, Kuzuryu-kun?"

Kuzuryu was silent for a long while, considering his answer. He stared resolutely at the buildings in the distance, their roofs glowing with the last embers of the setting sun.

"Nah," he said finally. "I don't."


	6. Advent Calendar, Doors 13-18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fell behind a little for various reasons, whoops. I should hopefully be caught up by the end of Christmas Eve, though!

**Door 13**

[these are illustrations based on [Short Story Collection 1](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5578090/chapters/27479844)!]

  


[there is a third illustration, but I still need to polish it up before putting it here... if you REALLY want to see it in all its garbage sketchiness it's on my tumblr.]

* * *

**Door 14 (happy birthday Gundham!)**

Peko stood before the door to a kingdom, mentally preparing herself for battle.

It wasn't a literal kingdom, of course, but in a way it was just as oppressive and intimidating as the real thing.

At the same time, Peko chided herself for being so apprehensive of a small-town pet shop.

"You should try doing some stuff for _yourself_ sometimes," Fuyuhiko had said.  "You don't have to hang around me all the time, especially someplace safe like Kibougaoka.  Go off and do things you're interested in."

"My only interest is ensuring your safety," Peko countered.

"Oh, bullshit.  You're not a machine."  He pointed at her, his expression settling into a forceful glare.  "Look, Hinata mentioned that there's a pet shop in Kibougaoka.  When we're there tomorrow, why don't you check it out?"

"Why would I possibly have an interest in—"

"Come on, we grew up together.  You can't fool me."  Fuyuhiko grinned.  "With all the animals at the store, there must be at least one that'll let you cuddle it, right?"

Peko was loathe to admit that the thought of cuddling a fluffy animal had been enough to pull her away from her young master... but as she stood in front of the store, she couldn't deny that it was the truth.  She sighed; what a poor excuse for a swordswoman she was.

Worse still was that she couldn't even bring herself to go inside.  She could see animals through the store windows—on one side of the door was a group of kittens, and on the other was a cluster of playful puppies—but she knew that the instant she stepped into the store, her menacing aura would immediately cause the poor things distress.

She hesitantly took a step towards the window of puppies.  Perhaps she could try observing them first...?  Once she was directly in front of the window, she suppressed the urge to tap on the glass—she didn't want to scare them more than she already would—but one of the puppies immediately took notice of her anyway, and she froze.

The puppy stared at her curiously for a moment, eyes shining through his wavy black fur, and he took a few cautious steps towards the window, gently wagging his tail curled over his back.  Peko wasn't sure what to do; a small animal was showing interest in her, and she didn't want to spook him.

Peko fretted for a moment as the puppy cocked his head, before finally settling on what she determined to be the safest course of action.

She smiled.

The puppy's tail slowed to a stop, then dropped between his legs as the dog cowered back, head lowered.  After taking a few steps back, he turned away, back to his playmates.

Peko sighed.  Perhaps this was a battle for another day, after all.

* * *

**Door 15**

Sakakura didn't like to admit it, but he was curious about The Woman.

After he first spoke to Munakata a few months earlier, they began exchanging small talk every day outside the koban, gradually evolving into longer chats.  When the weather grew too cold for them to talk outside for prolonged periods of time, they started occasionally meeting up for drinks after Sakakura's shift.

But Munakata never mentioned The Woman.

She had to be Munakata's girlfriend; with the way he had smiled with her, it was hard to imagine any other possibility.  But if he had a girlfriend that made him so happy, why would he never mention her?  Maybe they had broken up since then?  (Sakakura tried not to hope too hard for that possibility.  He had no intention of ever confessing to Munakata either way.)

There was no way he could ask about her, either.  It would just seem too strange to ask about The Woman when Sakakura had never been introduced to her—and bringing her up would also mean admitting that he had watched Munakata like a creep for _months_.  That was completely out of the question.

Unless, of course, she introduced herself to him first.

Sakakura wasn't sure if he particularly _wanted_ that to happen, but there was only so long he could ignore her peering into the koban, her face pressed against the glass façade like a kid outside a candy store.

Sighing, Sakakura opened the door and poked his head outside.  "Can I help you?" he called out.

The Woman jumped and looked at him in surprise, as if she had been under the impression that she was being particularly stealthy.  "Ah, yes!" she said, quickly gathering her composure.  "I'm sorry, but you're Sakakura-san, right?"

"Yes..."  He raised an eyebrow skeptically.

The Woman smiled brightly at him.  "My name is Chisa Yukizome.  I've heard so much about you from Kyosuke... ah, from Munakata-kun.  So I just had to come meet you!"

Sakakura wasn't sure how to feel about what she had just said.  On the one hand, Munakata had _talked_ about him.  He was an important enough presence in Munakata's life to be worth mentioning.

On the other hand, The Woman—Yukizome—was on first-name basis with Munakata.

Not that he was jealous or anything.

"I see," Sakakura said, pushing aside that non-existent jealousy.  "Yeah, I'm Juzo Sakakura.  And, uh..."  He paused, steeling himself for what he was going to ask next.  "Sorry, but are you and Munakata...?"

"Oh...!"  Yukizome giggled, her cheeks turning pink.  "Yes, we're dating.  We're college sweethearts, I guess you could say!"

And there it was, one more chip in his heart— no, just clarification of a small mystery.  Not heartbreak.  Why would his heart break over Kyosuke Munakata?

"Does Kyosuke ever mention me?" Yukizome continued.

"Not really," Sakakura answered truthfully.

"Aww..."  Yukizome pouted a bit.  "Well, I kind of expected that.  He can be pretty shy."

"Shy" wasn't a word that Sakakura would use to describe Munakata—but on the other hand, why would he possibly think that he'd know more about the man than his long-term girlfriend?  Frustrated, he gripped his hand into a fist.

"Still, that's kind of a bummer."  Yukizome sighed and cradled her face in a hand.  "He talks about you to me so much, but he doesn't mention me to you?  That kind of hurts!"

And Sakakura absolutely did not have to fight down an urge to pump that fist in victory.

Yukizome quickly recovered and giggled again.  "Oh, listen to me.  I shouldn't be pulling you away from your work like this."

"No, it's fine," Sakakura assured her.  "I think Ishimaru's got things covered."

She smiled amicably, then tilted her head to one side, and then the other, as if she were sizing him up.

Sakakura tried not to fidget uncomfortably under her gaze.  "Um, what are you...?"

"No, it's nothing."  Apparently satisfied, she smiled up at him again.  "You know, I'm glad Kyosuke made a friend like you.  He actually doesn't make friends that easily."

"Really?"  Sakakura was surprised.  "He seems pretty personable to me."

"Oh, people like him fine," Yukizome agreed.  "He commands respect very easily.  But Kyosuke is pretty... intense.  Oh!"  Her face turned beet-red, and she broke into another fit of giggles.  "Not like _that_ , of course!"

Okay, whether he was denying his feelings or not, Sakakura did _not_ want to hear about _that_.

"In any case, there aren't many people who will approach Kyosuke to be his friend."  Yukizome gave him a genuine smile.  "So I'm glad he met you.  You seem like you'd be able to handle him, Sakakura-kun."

Sakakura didn't miss how she had switched to the "kun" honorific—less impersonal, as if she had officially accepted him into their world.  But at the same time, he didn't feel as welcome as he probably should.

He had been accepted as Munakata's _friend_.  Nothing more.

Not that he was ever planning to become anything more.  All Yukizome had done was confirm a reality that Sakakura had long accepted to be true.

So as they exchanged parting words and he waved her off, he took comfort in the fact that at least he hadn't been chased away.

* * *

**Door 16**

"Oh, right."

Hinata had almost nodded off, lulled by the rhythmical clattering of the train and the comfortable presence of his boyfriend, but he was pulled awake again when Kuzuryu suddenly spoke up.  "Hmm?"

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he saw Kuzuryu digging through his duffle bag.  "I forgot to give you your present."

"Present?"  That was enough to fully free Hinata from his drowsiness.  "What are you talking about?  I thought this whole trip was my present!"

Kuzuryu arched an eyebrow as he pulled a small wrapped package from his bag.  "What kind of shitty present would _that_ be?  The trip was as much for me as it was for you.  Here."  He held out the package.  "Happy birthday."

Speechless, Hinata took the gift.  "Um... thanks, then?"  He stared at the wrapping paper for a moment before asking, "Can I open it now?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Hinata carefully opened the wrapping on the gift to reveal dark woven fabric, soft and warm against his fingertips.  "Gloves?"

"Yeah, 'cause you keep walking around outside with bare hands like a dumbass."  Kuzuryu grinned.  "How lame would it be if you lost a finger without even joining the clan?"

Hinata chuckled lightly, then pulled on one of the gloves to see how it fit.  The glove was snug and warm, and he flexed his fingers experimentally.  There were firm pads on the fingertips, and he tapped them together thoughtfully before it dawned on him.  "Hey, are these capacitive gloves?"

Kuzuryu grunted.  "Yeah, so?"

Hinata tried to keep a straight face, fighting down the grin that threatened to creep forward.  "So if I'm wearing these, what's the reason that I can't touch your phone now?"

Kuzuryu's face went red, and he turned to stare resolutely out the window at the passing countryside.  "Well I guess there fuckin' isn't a reason anymore, is there?"

No longer bothering to hide his smile, Hinata chuckled fondly.  Honestly, having access to Kuzuryu's phone didn't really matter to him—he didn't particularly care to see what was on there, and he was probably better off not knowing.

But there mere idea that Kuzuryu had even opened up that avenue of trust meant all the world, and warmed him more than a pair of gloves ever could.

* * *

**Door 17**

Komaru gave a contented sigh, lounging across an inner tube and letting the cool saltwater lap at her body. It was so nice to finally be able to relax after the frantic rush of Comiket, and she definitely felt that the beach trip was well-deserved.

Better yet was that not only had her best friend joined in, but she had _finally_ managed to convince Byakuya Togami to come out of hiding! It had taken commandeering several of her friends' cell phones and blowing through about seven different blocked email addresses, but finally he had relented.

The only problem was that, after all that trouble, Touko _still_ wouldn't address him directly.

"L-look how gorgeous he is," she swooned as she clung to the inner tube, her long, dark hair floating on the water around them like a spider web. "He's like a r-real life Adonis."

Komaru craned her head to follow Touko's gaze back to the shore, where Togami was sitting underneath a beach umbrella with his nose stuck in a book. Makoto, meanwhile, was idly pacing along the shoreline, stopping occasionally to regain his balance as the surf shifted the sand under his feet.

Would it kill them to be at least a _little_ more invested in their day out? Komaru groaned and hung her head backwards over the tube, letting her hair get thoroughly soaked.

"I would h-happily spend all day admiring his unparalleled b-beauty," Touko sighed. "O-or my entire life, even."

"Touko-chan, maybe you should try something proactive instead of just ogling him?" Komaru suggested. "I mean... he's right there. You finally have your chance to talk to him."

Komaru expected Touko to sputter some sort of excuse about being unworthy of approaching him, but instead she fell silent, her brows furrowing in thought.

Was she actually considering it? Komaru waited patiently but excitedly, not wanting to say something that would push her best friend back into a corner.

"Komaru," Touko finally said. "W-what if I drowned myself?"

Komaru was silent a beat, unsure of what she was hearing. "What."

"I could drown myself," Touko repeated, seeming to become more excited about the idea as she explained the plan, "and th-then he'd come rescue me, and back at shore he'd gently lay me atop the warm, white sand. He'd tenderly cradle my jaw, clearing my airway to perform mouth-to-mouth, and then—"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Komaru cut in, grabbing on to Touko's wrists to keep her from _actually_ drowning—the writer was getting worked up enough by her own fantasizing that she was losing her grip on the tube. "That's an idea, but I kinda get the feeling _I'd_ end up being the one saving your life."

Touko huffed indignantly, but didn't argue.

Komaru pondered for a moment until an idea came to her. "Hey, I know! Touko-chan, look." She pointed towards Togami. "See how he's reading?"

Touko frowned doubtfully. "Yeah..."

"Well that's, like, your _thing_!" she continued enthusiastically. "It's common ground that you can build off of! So why don't you try going back to shore—you don't have to talk to him if you don't want to—but sit down with a book and start reading too! Maybe he'll try striking up conversation about what you both are reading!" She kind of doubted that last part, but she wouldn't say that out loud.

Biting her lip nervously, Touko stared at Togami again. "Y-you think that might work?"

Komaru tried to exude as much confidence as possible. "Sure it might!" _Keyword: might!_

Gradually, and with much second-guessing, Komaru managed to urge Touko back to shore, and she watched as her friend pulled a softcover novel from her beach bag. Touko then turned and walked on shaking legs towards Togami... and then right past him, hurrying a full five meters away from the heir before sitting herself down on the sand to read.

Komaru sighed. Well, that was better than nothing...

And then, not two minutes later, Togami put down his book and stood up, walking away in the opposite direction.

Touko looked up from her book and shot a dark glare in Komaru's direction.

Unsure of how else to respond, Komaru simply shrugged and looked away.

It wasn't her fault that Togami was jerk. And clearly far too smitten with her brother already.

Come to think of it, maybe that last part _was_ kind of her fault... but only a little.

* * *

**Door 18**

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally gave my puppy Izuru a cameo in this batch, but is that the only Kamukura representation this AU is getting? Hmm...


	7. Advent Calendar, Doors 19-24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, everyone!

**Door 19**

Kuzuryu glared her down, as if she were the ultimate opponent.

Ruruka responded in kind.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here, you dung beetle?!" she spat indignantly, two seconds away from shooing him out of the store.

"I'm here to give you business you don't fucking deserve, you bitch!" he retorted, pointing to a clamshell package of dark green sweets on display next to the counter.  "So just sell me some of that kusamochi and let me get the hell out of here!"

"Kusamochi?!"  Ruruka leaned over the counter just enough to confirm what he was pointing at.  "Why are you— don't tell me Hinata sent you to get some in his stead?!"

"He didn't fucking _send_ me!  I just thought I'd be a considerate bro and pick some up so that he doesn't have to see your bitch-ass face!"

" _Excuse_ me?!"  Ruruka gripped the counter so tightly it felt like she was about to gouge fingernail marks into it.  "Then _no_ , I'm not selling them to you!  That's my only bargaining chip to get him here!"

"I knew it!  And you think I'm just going to let you have your way after you outright admit that?!"

"What, do you own rights to Hinata now, huh?!"

"Maybe I fucking do!"  Kuzuryu grabbed the package roughly from the display.  "So I'm just gonna buy this and you're gonna let me give you the money!  How much does it fucking cost?!"

"Are your eyes as rotten as your tongue?!  It says right there, eight hundred yen!"

"Fine!"  Kuzuryu grabbed a ten thousand yen note from his wallet and slapped it on the counter.  "Keep the change, I'm done with your shit!"

"Fine, now get the hell out!"  She picked up the money and waved her hands to shoo him out.  "Thanks for coming, have a terrible day!"

"Same to you, bitch!"

As he left, Kuzuryu slammed the door with such force that it nearly knocked the tiny bells at the top off their fasteners.

Ruruka huffed in irritation, then shrugged.

At least she got an extra two hundred out of him.

* * *

**Door 20**

"Here's your delivery, Kirigiri-san!" Naegi announced as he stepped into the koban.  "Two bowls of stamina udon, one for you and one for... wait, where's Hinata-kun?"

Kirigiri chuckled lightly as she stood from her desk, walking around it to greet him.  "Hinata-kun is gone for the night already.  He had other dinner plans."

"Ah..."   _Probably a date with Kuzuryu-kun_ , Naegi thought to himself.  He glanced at Kirigiri, fiddling with the delivery box nervously.  Did she really not know?  He couldn't imagine that someone as astute as Kirigiri would remain oblivious to their relationship for too long, but... well, he promised not to tell, so he definitely shouldn't say anything either way.

"Naegi-kun?"  Kirigiri looked at him oddly, an eyebrow arched.  "Are you going to take out the soup?"

"Oh!  Oh, right..."  Shaken from his reverie, Naegi placed the box on top of the desk and opened it up to extract the bowls.  "But if Hinata-kun's gone, what's the second bowl for?  You're not eating them both yourself, are you?"

Kirigiri wordlessly nodded towards the wall behind Naegi, and he turned to look, only to jump in surprise.  "Oh!  Sorry, I didn't even notice you were there!" he hurriedly apologized.  There was a silver-haired woman silently leaning against the wall—Naegi sort of felt like he had seen her before, but at the same time he didn't completely recognize her.  "Um, are you a friend of Kirigiri-san's, then...?"

"Friend...?" the woman repeated, as if the word were completely foreign on her tongue.  She glanced over Naegi's shoulder at Kirigiri, hesitation plainly written on her face.

Kirigiri gave a nonchalant shrug.  "Naegi-kun, not everyone applies the word 'friend' as liberally as you do," she said as she took her bowl of soup.

"Ah... yeah, you're probably right," Naegi admitted, laughing awkwardly.  "Sorry, I guess that was a weird question."

The woman with silver hair shook her head slowly.  "No, it's the natural question to ask, I suppose.  I'm just not used to having it directed towards me."  She paused, then bowed slightly.  "My name is Peko Pekoyama, by the way.  I don't think we've officially met."

"Oh, right!  I'm Makoto Naegi."  He bowed in response.  "I deliver udon around here, and... other things."

"Yes, I have seen you around."  Pekoyama gave the tiniest of smiles.  "I work as an... assistant to Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu."

Naegi wasn't sure if he completely believed that—since it sure looked like she was carrying a _sword_ —but otherwise it made sense.  "I see, so you're just here waiting for Kuzuryu-kun to come back with Hinata-kun..."

The two women froze.

"Naegi-kun," Kirigiri said, setting down her chopsticks.  "How did you know Hinata-kun is with Kuzuryu-kun?"

Oh... crap.  Kirigiri hadn't mentioned that, had she?  Naegi had just naturally assumed that Hinata would be with his boyfriend, but he couldn't say that... though it probably also seemed pretty suspicious that he had clammed up and hadn't given an answer.  "Um, well," he stammered, "it's just, uh..."

Kirigiri peered at him, tapping a gloved finger against her cheek thoughtfully.  "You know about them, don't you?"

"What?  No!"  Naegi shook his head vigorously.  "I mean, know what?  Why would I— wait, _you_ know about them?"

"Of course I know," Kirigiri stated plainly, picking up her chopsticks again.  "It didn't take very long to figure out."

Naegi sighed in relief.  "Thank goodness.  I had promised not to tell you, and— wait."  He dropped his voice to a whisper.  "Does Pekoyama-san know?"

Kirigiri chuckled.  "If she didn't, it would be a bit late to start whispering at this point."

"I'm well aware of their relationship," Pekoyama confirmed.

"But I have to say, Naegi-kun," Kirigiri said, leveling him with a thoughtful gaze, "you're sharper than you give yourself credit for."

"Oh, no, not at all," Naegi said, laughing bashfully.  "It's not like I figured it out on my own or anything, it was just..."  He trailed off, blushing as he remembered the incident.  "It was just luck that I found out."

Kirigiri stared at him for a long while before finally smirking.  "I see," she said, and Naegi got the distinct impression that she had somehow figured out the details of what happened anyway.  "Well, even if it wasn't the case here, I stand by my assessment.  You're more insightful than you think."

Naegi shrugged as he handed Pekoyama her bowl of udon.  "I don't know, I kind of feel like I'm just normal?"

"Naegi-kun."  Kirigiri folded her hands together, staring at him intensely.  "You've said that your psychology degree doesn't do you much good, but knowing how the human mind works is a valuable skill.  You shouldn't sell yourself short."

Naegi chuckled nervously; that sounded like a bit of an exaggeration, especially since he had only chosen his major for lack of any better ideas.  "Um, I'm flattered you think that, I guess."  He picked up the empty delivery box.  "Anyway, I should head back to the store now.  I'll talk to you later, Kirigiri-san.  And Pekoyama-san, it was nice meeting you!"

As he waved goodbye to the two women, Naegi headed back out into the chilly evening, trying not to feel burdened by too many thoughts.

* * *

**Door 21**

Souda was underneath a tractor, on a routine call to adjust some fittings, when his phone buzzed in his pocket.  Thinking that it was a message from his boss, he reached for his phone and unlocked it without looking, then brought it to his face to see what it was.

"What the _fuck_ — OW, holy _SHIT_!!"  He rubbed his head, hissing, after smashing it against the tractor's underside when he jolted upwards in surprise.  Through the pain, however, he didn't take his eyes off the image displayed on his screen.  "Hinata, what the _hell_?!" he whined, as if his friend could hear him from a thousand kilometers away.

"Are you all right, Souda-kun?" came his client's high-pitched voice.

"No, I'm not!  Just _look_ at this, Bandai!"  Souda rolled out from under the tractor and jumped up to show the farmer his cell phone, pointing at the image accusingly.  "My friend is in the driver's seat of a Benz!   _A Mercedes-Benz!_  How the hell did he manage that?!"

Bandai frowned disapprovingly at the mechanic.  "Souda-kun, can you stop playing on your cell phone and get back to work?  After all, resting swines sow no wheat!"

Ignoring the large man's bizarre made-up idioms, Souda continued to stare at the photo, nearly salivating at the sight of the car.  "Oh man... I think that's a CLS 63 AMG...  How the hell did Hinata even get his hands on a car like that?!"

Bandai sighed, then leaned over and clapped his hands in front of Souda's face to shock him out of his funk.  "Souda-kun, I would like my tractor in working order again as soon as possible.  Can you do that for me?"

"Huh?  Oh, oh right."  With just one last envious glance at the photo, Souda stuffed his phone away and climbed under the tractor again.  "No sweat, this should be pretty quick."

And once he was done, he was going to absolutely _grill_ Hinata about that car.

* * *

**Door 22**

  


* * *

**Door 23**

"Ippon!"

Lying flat on his back and staring up at the lights lining the ceiling, Hinata barely registered the calling of the match over the ringing in his ears.

The match had barely lasted a minute.  That was pretty disappointing but, well, Hinata hadn't really expected to get far in the annual judo tournament anyway—especially seeing as he was paired against Juzo Sakakura in the first round of the qualifiers.

He sighed in defeat, sitting up slowly as he rubbed his pounding head.  That was a bust, but at least he had tried—

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Hinata froze and looked up to see Sakakura looming over him, glaring with unmitigated disgust.  "Uh, what?  Nothing's wrong with me, I just—"

"That was pathetic.  Did you even try?"

Anger boiled in Hinata's ears.  "Of course I tried!  I just wasn't as skilled, so—"

"You think you can be a cop with an attitude like that?"  Sakakura scoffed.  "You call that trying?  You're _never_ trying, and this is proof of it.  If you're not devoted to this career, why don't you just leave?"

Hinata's hands clenched into fists.  The words stung particularly hard—because he knew that, when it came down to it, there was a morsel of truth behind them.  "You have no right to tell me that," he growled.

"I can and I am."  Sakakura crossed his arms over his gi.  "I'll even go back to the dorms and pack your bags for you.  You just worry yourself with getting back to mommy."

For a moment, Hinata couldn't see through the rage.  He lurched upward, and a satisfying smacking sound echoed through the tournament hall as a dull pain in his knuckles bolted up his arm.

In the instant his fist met Sakakura's jaw, even through the exhilarating haze of adrenaline, Hinata knew it was a terrible idea.  He knew he was about to get beaten to a pulp.  He knew he was going to be in major trouble, and he knew Kirigiri would be reprimanded by association.

But _damn_ if it didn't feel good.

* * *

**Door 24**

"If you are to remain our daughter," he said, stern and forceful, "you must not bring shame to our family by giving birth to that baby."

Hitoka Hinata gripped the hem of her skirt tightly, eyes cast downward at her knees folded into seiza before her parents. She had known that there would be pushback, being an unmarried young college student and daughter to an influential family in education, but she hadn't actually expected such an extreme ultimatum: abortion, or being disowned.

"May I renegotiate the terms?" she asked, as firmly as she could manage.

"I hardly think you're in a position to be doing so," her father said. "You say you aren't even together with the father anymore! No daughter of mine will be seen as a hussy, and the pregnancy should be terminated appropriately."

Hitoka bit her lower lip, weighing her options. She absolutely did not want to lose the baby—she wasn't very far along, that was true, and the child still wasn't much more than a clump of cells, but she still loved them fiercely, as if they were already a full-term baby lying in her arms. But on the other hand... if she were cut off from her family, she wasn't confident that she'd be able to provide for the child.

It was true that she wasn't with the father anymore; their relationship had already been on rocky ground when she got pregnant. If she were all on her own, could she give the baby the life they deserved after forcing them into the cruel world? Was it kinder to let them fade away painlessly without having to experience that hardship, and hope for a better life for a later child—one conceived under circumstances more acceptable to her parents?

Maybe it was just selfish of her to want this child to live...

She took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. She had two choices. The first was to maintain a relationship with her family, terminating the baby in the process. The second was to cut ties completely, giving her child a chance at a life, but dooming them to be at a disadvantage from the start.

Neither option guaranteed that her child would thrive in the world, but one of them at least offered the a possibility.

She raked a hand through her hair again, causing her mother to tut softly over her disheveled appearance, but that was beyond her focus at that point. Logically, she knew that her heart had already made the decision; she was only fooling herself into believing that it was a difficult choice. But was it the right one?

She'd have to work hard, harder than she ever had in her privileged life. She'd probably have to leave school in favor of entering the workforce full-time. She'd be stretched thin between working and caring for a child.

But what was the point of discouraging herself from a decision she had already made?

Slowly, she dropped her hand back to her knees.

Then, with a nervous smile tugging at her lips, she gave her answer.


	8. After Dying, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's still before midnight here so HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAEGI! Let's have a little peek into his storyline, shall we? (Also this is largely unbetaed.)
> 
> There will be a part two to this, but it still has a ton of parts that need ironing out so I'm not even going to try to guess when that will go up!

The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.

If pressed to explain his current predicament, that was the best Naegi could come up with: the illusion that something has increased in frequency after becoming aware it exists, when in reality it's been there all along.

There was no other reason why he would keep running into Byakuya Togami during his daily life.  Crossing paths when Naegi arrived for his shifts in the evenings, when he clocked out in the mornings, when he was out and about during the daytime...

It was simply unthinkable that Togami could be going out of his way to run into Naegi, so it had to be some sort of cognitive bias on his part.

After all, their lunch together had been absolutely abysmal; Togami had shot down all of Naegi's (admittedly awkward) conversation attempts, to the point that Naegi eventually just gave up on talking completely.  Ninety percent of the lunch had been in complete, uncomfortable silence.  It was far from the "hot date" that Komaru had teased him about.

Not that he had wanted it to be that, anyway.  He didn't know why he hadn't been able to outright deny Fukawa's accusation of romantic interest, but he was fairly sure that wasn't it.  Maybe Komaru had been on the mark when she had brought up Maizono, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.  A thirteen-year-old's crush usually didn't translate well into adulthood.

Naegi was just starstruck by the kindness of a local celebrity.  That's what it had been with Maizono, and that's what it was with Togami.

Even that was hard to explain to the girls, though, because Naegi felt a bit silly about it himself.  All Togami had done was make a positive comment about Naegi's work ethic.  It wasn't the first time he had heard such a compliment, but usually it was directly followed by, "so it's a shame we have to let you go."

Of course, it couldn't be overstated that it was _Byakuya Togami_ who had complimented his work ethic.

And it was Byakuya Togami who had accepted his invitation to lunch.

And it was Byakuya Togami who had started _greeting him_ when they crossed paths.

That was kind of weird, and Naegi couldn't really explain it.  Of course, being Togami, said "greetings" were little more than a huff of acknowledgment, a minuscule nod of the head.  Naegi wasn't worth much more that that.  But either way, that was the only indication that maybe he wasn't actually experiencing cognitive bias.  That _definitely_ wasn't something that had existed before they had lunch together.

...Maybe he and Togami were _both_ experiencing the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon in regards to each other.

* * *

For weeks, Naegi didn't know what to say to Togami when they crossed paths, so he opted to just stay quiet.  If he was greeted, he would politely nod his head in acknowledgement, but aside from that Naegi wouldn't dare risk stepping past whatever barriers Togami had set.

Besides, Togami was his boss.  If he actually wanted something from Naegi, surely he would just come out and say it.

He never did, though, and eventually the strange new status of "cordial acquaintances" (or something close to it) simply became the norm, nothing for Naegi to worry about.

But when he arrived at work one day a month after their lunch to find Togami milling around _behind the checkout counter_ , Naegi froze up, a knot forming in his throat.

That was sure to be an interaction outside the norm.

Nervously, he crept to the back room to clock in and pull on his store apron before returning to the front.  Togami was still behind the counter, typing something onto his smartphone while glaring down at the receipt printer.

"Um... do you need help with something?" Naegi said carefully, deciding it was a situation where it was best to be proactive.

Togami huffed in irritation.  "We received a complaint this afternoon from a customer who didn't receive a receipt.  Apparently there was an issue with this printer."  He turned his icy gaze onto him.  "Explain, Naegi."

Naegi blinked up at him blankly for a moment.  Explain?  He had just gotten there...  Had Togami not discussed the issue with the previous shift's cashier?  Or was he purposefully giving him a hard time?  "Well... this printer tends to jam up, so that's probably what happened."  He stepped over to the printer and flipped open the top to look inside.  "Sometimes it jams so bad that it takes a while to fix, and we can't reprint a receipt before the customer leaves.  It looks fine right now, but it happens at least once a day."

"And how long has this been a recurring issue?"

"Since before I started working here," Naegi said honestly.

"Unacceptable," Togami grumbled.  "Did no one think to request a replacement?"

"We have!" Naegi defended.  "Several times!  It's just hard to—"  He quickly shut himself up; it would probably be out-of-line to complain about upper management's tendency to ignore storefront issues until a customer complained.

Togami seemed to have caught on, though, his eyebrow twitching slightly as he lifted up the printer to take down the serial number.  "I see.  Well, as long as I'm here, are there any _other_ equipment issues I should know about?"

Naegi tilted his head in thought.  "Well... the keyboard on the register sticks sometimes, but I think that just needs a deep cleaning, not a replacement.  Somebody probably spilled soda on it at some point.  And sometimes the cold case makes strange noises at four in the morning..."

Togami looked at him with a weary glare.

"I'm not joking!" Naegi said defensively, though he could feel an amused grin pulling at his lips.  "I know it sounds like some dumb ghost story, but it's the truth!"

Sighing, Togami stepped out from behind the counter.  "For your sake, it better be.  I'll take down the cold case's information too."

Naegi watched as Togami made his way to the cold case, but something about watching his boss from behind felt _really_ weird, so he averted his gaze and tried to find something else to occupy the silence between them.  "Um... can I ask you something?"

"You may ask," Togami said without looking up from his phone.  "I can't guarantee an answer."

Naegi hesitated, but decided to go ahead with his question.  "Why didn't you talk to me when we had lunch?"

Smirking, Togami countered, "Why didn't you suggest less vapid conversation starters?"

Naegi grimaced; he couldn't argue with that.  The situation had been so awkward and uncomfortable, and he could barely even remember what he had tried talking about, but he knew it had been less than impressive.  "I, uh... I'm not always that good with small talk," he admitted.

Togami sniffed derisively.  "One would think that a social psychologist would be better at carrying a conversation."

"Oh, I'm not—!"  Naegi barely kept himself from yelping his denial, then continued in a more dignified manner.  "I'm not a psychologist, really.  It's what I studied in college, sure, but I don't think I'm cut out for graduate studies, so I only have a bachelor's..."

"Yes, I noticed."  Pocketing his phone, Togami turned to face Naegi again.  "I saw when I looked up your CV."

_Why did you dig up my CV?!_  Naegi managed to kill the impulse to ask, keeping his mouth shut.

"So."  Togami cocked an eyebrow.  "What exactly did you plan to do with only a four-year degree in psychology?"

Naegi sighed, then shrugged.  "I hadn't planned on anything, really?  I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I kind of chose that major at random."  He spread his arms outward, chuckling wryly.  "Now I'm just stuck here, I guess."

Togami crossed his arms in thought.  "But even if it isn't directly related, an education in psychology could be more useful in other fields than you'd expect.  Familiarity with the human psyche is a valuable asset."

Naegi blinked up at him blankly.  Kirigiri had told him the exact same thing before, as encouragement, but hearing it from Togami...   _What?_  "I'm sorry, what do you mean?"

"In business, for example."  Togami gestured across the store floor.  "Your education, especially your focus on social psychology, would give you the ability to gauge others' feelings based on body language and other cues, yes?  That's an important skill here in customer service, where the objective is to offer a welcoming, comfortable shopping experience."

Naegi frowned.  "So you're saying that I fit right in at minimum-wage jobs."

Togami smirked.  "You could say that, but of course that's not the only option.  You could also excel at the top, where getting the advantage over your business rivals is of utmost importance."

"Uh, no thank you."

"No, you don't quite have the personality."  Togami looked him over, and Naegi squirmed under his gaze, feeling his cheeks starting to heat up.  "But perhaps as an assistant... a secretary, perhaps."

Unsure of exactly what response would be appropriate, Naegi laughed at what must have been a joke.

But Togami seemed less than impressed by that reaction.  Crap, so that wasn't a joke...

Wait.  It _wasn't_ a joke?  "Wh— huh?" Naegi stammered.  "What are you... Togami-san?"

Togami rolled his eyes.  "Perhaps not."

"Were you just... serious right now?"

"And what led you to believe that any part of our conversation was meant in jest?"

Naegi's mouth flapped uselessly before he found his words again.  "I'm... I'm just a part-timer!  I don't have any qualifications!  I can't work for... the Togami Corporation?"

"And perhaps you're right."  Togami huffed.  "Indeed, at first glance, you seemed to be... average.  Absolutely nothing spectacular about you."

Naegi wasn't sure whether he should take that as an insult, but for the moment it supported the point he was trying to make, so he let it be.  "Right, and I just... I can't _do_ what you're suggesting.  Doubting people, analyzing them, taking advantage of what they're hiding...  I can't do that.  I don't _want_ to do that."  He shook his head.  "I'm sorry, but I only ever take people at face value."

Togami leaned closer to him, eyes narrowing.  "It certainly doesn't reflect well on you that you can't even see your own capabilities," he said, voice lowered.  "I suppose we'll have to see if I do indeed want you for myself."

Naegi openly gawked, and without another word, Togami turned on his heel and walked out of the store.  A minute later, once cognizant thought returned to Naegi, he felt his face flush all the way down his neck.

What... what the hell was _that_?!  Togami wanted to hire to him to the Togami Corportaton?  He genuinely saw some worth in him?  He might actually _want Naegi for himself_??

Naegi was all the more mortified to think, completely unbidden, _yes please_.

He curled over onto the counter, hands clamped over his mouth to keep himself from—from what?  From screaming?   _Squealing?_  Making some other sort of humiliating sound?  And yes please _what_?!  What was going on in his head?!

_You know full well what's going on in your own head_ , part of him insisted, but he firmly pushed that aside.

Togami was talking about possibly wanting Naegi as an employee.  A more high-ranking employee as than a store clerk.  That was all.

Why did he need to convince himself of that?

He knew he had to be in denial, but that suited him just fine.  Denial was easy.  Denial didn't require any unnecessary worrying.

But denial wasn't right.

Groaning, he slumped to the floor and took his cell phone out of his jeans to type a quick text to his sister.

_> hey... do you think i maybe have a crush on togami-san?_

_> You actually didn't know?? m9(^Д^) lookit this idiot lololololololol_

Maybe she wasn't the best candidate for calming his nerves.

* * *

He couldn't immediately wrap his head around the idea that he had a crush on Togami, of course.  As long as he had been aware of romantic inclinations, Naegi had always been attracted to girls.  He was fully aware that that was more of a convenient excuse than anything else; even though attraction to another man had never happened before, it wasn't like he wasn't open to the idea.  A person was a person, regardless of gender.

But this person was also Byakuya Togami, heir to the Togami Corporation, and _Naegi's boss_.

At most, he couldn't let it be more than a fleeting attraction.  It was just too complicated otherwise, both in terms of work and private affairs.  And Naegi was just... normal, anyway.  He couldn't compare.  He wasn't in Togami's league.

Also Fukawa would _hate_ him oh _geez._

Over the course of his shift, he considered his options.  For eight full hours, it felt like his heart was thudding a mile a minute, jumping straight into his throat every time someone walked through the door.  He knew, logically, that Togami wouldn't be strolling into the store in the dead of night, but just the thought of facing him again had Naegi on edge.

But he was bound to run into him again eventually.  Togami was his boss.

So once it was time for him to go home, he flagged down the morning shift manager and did something he had never done before.

He quit his job.


End file.
